Journal and diary accounts make it clear some were consummated sexually (ISL, pp. 12-15)

He did this behind his wife’s back or hid the sexual aspect from her

Todd Compton’s book, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, is a calmly crafted work designed to bring truth and understanding to this segment of Latter-day Saint history which too often has been characterized by either deliberate obfuscation or shameless sensationalism. Compton (Ph.D., classics, University of California, Los Angeles), himself a Latter-day Saint, has produced a thorough, well-documented work. Read review here.

Joseph lied about the origins of the Mormon Temple ceremony.He joined a Masonic order, learned their secret rituals and then incorporated these into a Mormon temple ceremony claiming his source was revelation from God.